


if the fates allow

by somethinglikegumption



Series: most wonderful time of the year [7]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Christmas, F/M, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-09-22 16:02:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17062742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somethinglikegumption/pseuds/somethinglikegumption
Summary: Random Tumblr prompts in honor of the holiday season.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: "You've been looking through the gifts, haven't you?"

Three pairs of blue eyes stare back at her where she’s standing in the kitchen doorway, hands firm on her hips.

“What are you talking about?” Jughead asks. Their two-year-old giggles from her high chair and Hot Dog the Fourth just barks in response.

“I’m talking, Forsythe Pendleton Jones, about how all of the presents have been moved and how my silver wrapping paper now has maple syrup fingerprints on it. I have my suspicions about the fingerprints-” she says, glancing at their daughter, “-but my well-behaved child would never touch those without permission from an adult.” With that, she turns her glare back to her husband.

“Daddy said we could listen to them!” Juliet pipes up from her chair. Jughead shoots her a look of pure betrayal and Jules laughs harder. 

“Listen to them?” Betty questions, and Jughead hangs his head. 

“We were shaking them to see if there was anything good inside.”

Betty throws up her hands. “Christmas is tomorrow. You couldn’t wait another 24 hours?”

“NO!” Jughead and Juliet answer in unison, and Betty can’t hold back the peals of laughter at their shocked looks. Shaking her head, she reaches under the sink for the wet wipes and goes to clean the maple syrup from Veronica and Archie’s presents. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "There is too much eggnog in my rum."

Betty stares into the red Solo cup, willing it to fill with another shot of Captain Morgan. The alcohol gods aren’t smiling on her today though, so she pushes her way through the crowd standing in the living room to the backyard. 

The bar for the evening (a few handles shoved into a snow drift) is unoccupied for the moment, so she takes her time pulling things out until reaching the Holy Grail. The brown bottle is just within her reach when a hand stretches over her shoulder and grabs it from the snow.

“What the -” Betty starts as a steady stream of cuss words and insults float through her head. Turning to face the rum thief, the words catch in her throat.

The black leather jacket with the green snake emblazoned on the back is the only thing she sees as he disappears with the evening’s saving grace.

“HEY!” she shouts, storming after him to grab his arm. Her fingers barely make contact with the smooth leather before he’s spinning to meet her head on. 

“ _Jughead?”_ she breathes as she takes in the face of her childhood best friend after four long years.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: She clicked off the television, turning toward him. "Well, looks like we're snowed in."

“Whatever shall we do then?” Jughead asks as she snuggles back into the crook of his arm.

A twinkle in her eye betrays Betty’s thoughts. “I think you know exactly what I’m thinking.”

“Really?” he asks breathlessly. 

A smirk on her face, she takes his hand and pulls him up, farther into the apartment…

…to the kitchen, where Veronica found them two hours later eating cookie dough from the roll, perched on the kitchen counter watching the snow swirling outside the window.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Jughead waved a package of hamburger meat in each hand. "You said cheeseburgers aren't suitable for Christmas dinner, but you never said they wouldn't work for the party."

“What part of ‘upscale classy’ don’t you understand?” Betty hisses through her teeth, snatching the styrofoam tray from his hand and putting it back into the display case. “I’m already freaking out about how my mom’s going to react when I tell her you didn’t bring a tie.”

“Sorry my Christmas Eves were spent in pajamas in front of the TV and not going to fancy parties with a dress code,” his voice lowers with the phrase dress code, as if they were dirty words.

“You know Veronica, her family’s never done anything halfway,” Betty says, remembering last year’s party where white-gloved waiters circulated with champagne and Hiram offered a toast every hour on the hour, and her parents kissed under the mistletoe while she and Veronica stuffed themselves with canapés and cookies.

This year was different though, with a new boyfriend and an anxious mother trying to prove she was the one who came out better in the divorce.

“This trip is already packed enough, with the whole meeting the family thing. Do I have to do a who’s who of Riverdale too?” he whines, and Betty stops the cart. 

Leaning up, she holds his face in her hands and pulls him down to her eye level. His smile is teasing, but his eyes are concerned. Her mother’s less-than-warm greeting must have taken its toll.

“Just an hour,” she compromises. “We’ll go for an hour, and then we can come home and watch Elf in our PJs.” She hadn’t seen Veronica or anyone from high school in almost a year, so she was actually looking forward to going, but she wasn’t going to make him stay for long if he was uncomfortable.

Jughead’s head drops, defeat evident in the slump of his shoulders. “Fine,” he says, and Betty squeals in delight, kissing him quickly. 

“You’re not going to regret it, Juggie,” she tosses over her shoulder as she steers the cart to the next aisle to find something more appropriate to bring. “Just wait until you see the appetizer room.”

“Appetizer  _room_?” he breathes, jaw dropping in shock and eyes widening in pure joy. Betty’s laughter carries her all the way to liquor section.


End file.
